parliamentary briefing paper – july 2010 Towards a Democratic and Inclusive Constitution for Zimbabwe The Scope for Addressing Gender Equality Dr Amy S. Tsanga 1 INTRODUCTION Gender discrimination is the unequal treatment of a person because of their sex and the roles that society gives to that particular sex. Ensuring non­discrimination on the basis of gender is one of the key steps towards achieving a democratic and egalitarian society. It is also a sound basis for a country to make full use of its human resources. It also helps a country to understand issues from the perspective of both men and women. Often, gender equality and gender justice have not been achieved because of continued discrimination against women. In order to achieve gender equality and gender justice, it is necessary to examine all issues, in this case the Constitution, from the perspective of the lives of both men and women. This is because special steps may need to be taken in favour of women in order to achieve gender equality as it is usually women whom society discriminates against. One of the key challenges facing campaigners of gender equality is the reality that discrimination is so inbuilt in the social mindset it is almost invisible to many people. As such, for some, in crafting a new Constitution, the expectation will be that it is enough to treat all citizens the same, without making any room for special treatment for disadvantaged groups such as women. It is such misunderstandings that are important to address as part of the discussion on the Constitution-making process. While there are instances where all citizens can and ought to be treated the same, there are equally instances where, in order to level the playing field, those who have been marginalised need to be treated differently. An overall‘gender neutral’ approach to constitutional law-making or equal treatment of persons in unequal situations would result in continuing rather than removing injustices. 2 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM It is also a fact that the modern world has taken measures to rectify the reality of discrimination against women. This is clear from the existence of major international and regional instruments that promote women’s rights. Human rights instruments 1